49+ Famous Samwise Gamgee Quotes

In this brief article we have curated a list of Samwise Gamgee quotes.

Samwise Quotes

Here are some of the most well known Samwise Quotes from the Lord of the Rings trilogy:

• “Don’t turn me into anything… unnatural”
• “I’m coming Mr Frodo” 
• “I wonder if people will ever say “Let’s hear about Frodo and the ring”
• “Potatoes! Boil ‘em, mash ‘em stick ‘em in a stew!
• “It’s like in the great stories, Mr Frodo. The ones that really mattered.”
• “Books ought to have good endings”
• “I can’t carry it for you, but I can carry you”

Samwise Gamgee, known as Sam, was a Hobbit of the Shire. He was Frodo Baggins’ gardener and best friend.

Sam proved himself to be Frodo’s closest and most dependable companion, the most loyal of the Fellowship of the Ring, and played a critical role in protecting Frodo and destroying the One Ring.

Astin plays one of the most exciting characters in the trilogy, Samwise Gamgee, a seemingly ordinary hobbit, but who turns out to be Frodo’s most devoted friend.

As “punishment” for eavesdropping on Gandalf’s conversation with Frodo regarding the dangers of the One Ring, Gandalf chose Sam to be Frodo’s companion on his journey to Rivendell.

Sam saved Frodo’s life more than once during the quest to destroy the Ring, and would accompany him all the way to Mount Doom, according to the Lord of The Rings Fandom. 

Many regard Sam Gamgee as the “true hero” of The Lord of the RIngs. Tolkien himself expressed this view in one of his letters, referring to him as the “chief hero”, with special emphasis placed on Sam’s “rustic love” for Rosie.

The quest to destroy the Ring would not have succeeded without Sam, who repeatedly saves Frodo from disaster (such as rescuing him at Cirith Ungol and carrying him up Mount Doom).

The relationship between Frodo and Sam was, in many respects, at the centre of The Lord of the Rings. 

To the modern reader, it seems archaic – it is clearly extremely class-oriented: Sam’s humbleness and “plain speaking” is frequently emphasized in contrast to Frodo’s “gentility”, and he often shows deference to Frodo, calling him “Mister Frodo”. 

At the same time, a strong bond of love and trust grows between them, portrayed most poignantly during the events of Cirith Ungol, where Sam vows to return to his (apparently) dead master, to be reunited with Frodo in death.

25 Famous Samwise Gamgee Quotes

1. “Sam stood sullenly by the pony and retunred no answer. Bill, seeming to understand well what was going on, nuzzled up to him, putting his nose to Sam’s ear. Sam burst into thears, and fumbled with the straps, unlading all the pony’s packs and throwing them to the ground.” (Fellowship of the Ring, p. 341)

2. “Sam, clinging to Frodo’s arm, collapsed on a step in the black darkness. ‘Poor old Bill!’ he said in a choking voice, ‘Poor old Bill! Wolves and snakes! But the snakes were too much for him. I had to choose, Mr. Frodo. I had to come with you.'” (Fellowship of the Ring, p. 347)

3. “When thirteen had fallen the rest fled shrieking, leaving the defenders unharmed, except for Sam who had a scratch along the scalp. A quick duck had saved him; and he had felled his orc: a sturdy thrust with his Barrow-blade. A fire was smouldering in his brown eyes that would have made Ted Sandyman step backwards, if he had seen it.” (Fellowship of the Ring, p. 365)

4. “Once I do get to sleep…I shall go on sleeping whether I roll off or no. And the less said, the sooner I’ll drop off, if you take my meaning.” (Fellowship of the Ring, p. 386)

5. “Live and learn! As my gaffer used to say. though he was thinking of gardening, not of roosting like a bird, nor trying to walk like a spider. not even my uncle Andy ever did a trick like that!.” (Fellowship of the Ring, p. 389)

6. “I thought that Elves were all for moon and stars: but this is more elvish than anything I ever heard tell of. I feel as if I was inside a song, if you take my meaning.” (Fellowship of the Ring, p. 393)

7. “She seemed to be looking inside me and asking me what I would do if she gave me the chance of flying back home to the Shire to a nice little hole with–with a bit of garden of my own.” (Fellowship of the Ring, p. 401)

8. “Its the job that’s never started as takes longest to finish, as my gaffer used to say.” (Fellowship of the Ring, p. 405)

9. “Sam sat on the ground and put his head in his hands. ‘I wish I had never come here, and I don’t want to see no more magic,’ he said and fell silent. After a moment he spoke again thickly, as if struggling with tears. ‘No, I’ll go home by th elong road with Mr. Frodo, or not at all,’ he said. ‘But I hope I do get back some day. If what I’ve seen turns out true, somebody’s going to catch it hot!'” (Fellowship of the Ring, p. 407)

10. “‘For you, little gardener and lover of trees,’ she said to Sam, ‘I have only a small gift.’ She put into his hand a little box of plain grey wood, unadorned save for a single silver rune upon the lid. ‘Here is set G for Galadriel,’ she said; ‘but also it may stand for garden in your tongue. In this box there is earth from my orchard, and such blessing as Galadriel has still to bestow is upon it. It will not keep you on your road, nor defend you against any peril; but if you keep it and see your home again at last, then perhaps it may reward you.'” (Fellowship of the Ring, p. 422)

12. “What a place! What a horrible place! Just let me get out of this boat, and I’ll never wet my toes in a puddle again, let alone a river!” (Fellowship of the Ring, p. 442)

13. Frodo: “But I am going to Mordor.”

Sam: “I know that well enough, Mr. Frodo. Of course you are. And I’m coming with you.” (Fellowship of the Ring, p. 457)

14. “I made a promise, Mr. Frodo! A promise! Don’t you leave him, Samwise Gamgee! And I don’t mean to. I don’t mean to.” (Movie version, Fellowship of the Ring)

15. “…I’m coming too, or neither of us isn’t going. I’ll knock holes in all the boats first.” (Fellowship of the Ring p. 457)

16. [While gazing at a sleeping Frodo] “I love him. He’s like that, and sometimes it shines through somehow. But I love him, whether or no.” (The Two Towers p. 291)

17. “Frodo, Mr. Frodo!” he called, “Don’t leave me here alone! It’s your Sam calling. Don’t go where I can’t follow!” (The Two Towers p. 384)

18. “I’ll get there, if I leave everything but my bones behind,” said Sam, “And I’ll carry Mr. Frodo up myself, if it breaks my back and heart.” (Return of the King p. 232)

19. “O great glory and splendor! And all my wishes have come true!” (Return of the King p. 249)

20. “If I take one more step it’ll be the farthest away from home I’ve ever been.’

21. “Back off, or I’ll have you, Longshanks!”

22. I made a promise, Mr Frodo! A promise! “Don’t you leave him, Samwise Gamgee.” And I don’t mean to… I don’t mean to!

23. “I know. It’s all wrong. By rights we shouldn’t even be here. But we are. It’s like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger, they were. And sometimes you didn’t want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it’s only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something, even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn’t. They kept going. Because they were holding on to something.” ― Samwise Gamgee

24. “It’s like the great stories, Mr. Frodo, the ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were, and sometimes you didn’t want to know the end because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad has happened? But in the end, it’s only a passing thing this shadow, even darkness must pass. A new day will come, and when the sun shines, it’ll shine out the clearer. I know now folks in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn’t. They kept going because they were holding on to something. That there’s some good in this world, Mr. Frodo, and it’s worth fighting for.” ― Samwise Gamgee

25. “That there’s some good in this world, Mr. Frodo… and it’s worth fighting for.” ― Samwise Gamgee

Sam and Frodo Quotes

Whilst we are on this topic here are some of the most famous Sam and Frodo quotes:

• “I wonder if people will ever say, let’s hear about Frodo and the ring”
• “Books ought to have good endings”
• “Don’t you leave him, Samwise Gamgee”
• “Do you remember the taste of strawberries?” 
• “There’s some good in this world, Mr Frodo, and it’s worth fighting for.”

More Samwise Gamgee Quotes

1. “Boil em, mash em, stick em in a stew.”

― Samwise Gamgee

2. “Come, Mr. Frodo!’ he cried. ‘I can’t carry it for you, but I can carry you.”

― J.R.R. Tolkien

3. “It would be the death of you to come with me, Sam,” said Frodo, “and I could not have borne that.”

“Not as certain as being left behind,” said Sam.

“But I am going to Mordor.”

“I know that well enough, Mr. Frodo. Of course you are. And I’m coming with you.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien

4. “There’s some good in this world, Mr. Frodo, and it’s worth fighting for.” ― J. R. R. Tolkien

5. “One tiny Hobbit against all the evil the world could muster. A sane being would have given up, but Samwise burned with a magnificent madness, a glowing obsession to surmount every obstacle, to find Frodo, destroy the Ring, and cleanse Middle Earth of its festering malignancy. He knew he would try again. Fail, perhaps. And try once more. A thousand, thousand times if need be, but he would not give up the quest.” ― The Return of the King

6. “It must often be so, Sam, when things are in danger: some one has to give them up, lose them, so that others may keep them.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien

7. “Where are you going, Master?’ cried Sam, though at last he understood what was happening.

‘To the Havens, Sam,’ said Frodo.

‘And I can’t come.’

‘No, Sam. Not yet, anyway, not further than the Havens. Though you too were a Ring-bearer, if only for a little while. Your time may come. Do not be too sad, Sam. You cannot always be torn in two. You will have to be one and whole, for many years. You have so much to enjoy and to be, and to do.’

‘But,’ said Sam, and tears started in his eyes, ‘I thought you were going to enjoy the Shire, too, for years and years, after all you have done.’

‘So I thought too, once. But I have been too deeply hurt, Sam. I tried to save the Shire, and it has been saved, but not for me. It must often be so, Sam, when things are in danger: some one has to give them up, lose them, so that others may keep them. But you are my heir: all that I had and might have had I leave to you. And also you have Rose, and Elanor; and Frodo-lad will come, and Rosie-lass, and Merry, and Goldilocks, and Pippin; and perhaps more that I cannot see. Your hands and your wits will be needed everywhere. You will be the Mayor, of course, as long as you want to be, and the most famous gardener in history; and you will read things out of the Red Book, and keep alive the memory of the age that is gone, so that people will remember the Great Danger, and so love their beloved land all the more. And that will keep you as busy and as happy as anyone can be, as long as your part in the Story goes on.

‘Come now, ride with me!” ― J.R.R. Tolkien

8. “Come, Mr. Frodo!’ he cried. ‘I can’t carry it for you, but I can carry you and it as well. So up you get! Come on, Mr. Frodo dear! Sam will give you a ride. Just tell him where to go, and he’ll go” ― J.R.R. Tolkien
9. “Frodo: Go back, Sam! I’m going to Mordor alone.

Sam: Of course you are, and I’m coming with you!” ― J.R.R. Tolkien

10. “I feel like spring after winter, and sun on the leaves; and like trumpets and harps and all the songs I have ever heard!” ― J.R.R. Tolkien

11. “I shall have to go. But-” and here Frodo looked hard at Sam- “if you really care about me, you will have to keep that DEAD secret. See? If you don’t, if you even breathe a word of what you’ve heard here, then I hope Gandalf will turn you into a spotted toad and fill the garden full of grass snakes.”

Sam fell on his knees, trembling. “Get up, Sam!” Said Gandalf. “I have thought of something better than that. Something to keep you quiet, and punish you properly for listening. You shall go away with Mr. Frodo!”

“Me, sir!” cried Sam, springing up like a dog invited for a walk. “Me go and see Elves and all! Hooray!” he shouted, and then burst into tears.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien

12. “Snow’s all right on a fine morning, but I like to be in bed when it’s falling” ― J.R.R. Tolkien
13. “Is everything sad going to come untrue?” ― J.R.R. Tolkien
14. “Yes, perhaps, yes’ said Gollum. ‘Sméagol always helps, if they asks – if they asks nicely.’

”Right!’ says Sam. ‘I does ask. And if that isn’t nice enough, I begs.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien

“Frodo gave a cry, and there was, fallen upon his knees at the chasm’s edge. But Gollum, dancing like a mad thing, held aloft the ring, a finger still thrust within its circle.

“Precious, precious, precious!” Gollum cried. “My Precious! O my Precious!” And with that, even as his eyes were lifted up to gloat on his prize, he stepped too far, toppled, wavered for a moment on the brink, and then with a shriek he fell. Out of the depths came his last wail precious, and he was gone.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien

15. “There was a lot more to that song,’ said Sam, ‘all about Mordor. I didn’t learn that part, it gave me the shivers. I never thought I should be going that was myself!’

‘Going to Mordor!” Cried Pippin. ‘I hope it won’t come to that!’

‘Do not speak that name so loudly!’ said Strider” ― J.R.R. Tolkien

16. “Sam, clinging to Frodo’s arm, collapsed on a step in the black darkness. ‘Poor old Bill!’ he said in a choking voice. ‘Poor old Bill! Wolves and snakes! But the snakes were too much for him. I had to choose, Mr. Frodo. I had to come with you.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien
17. “Let him go, you filth! Let him go! You will not touch him again!” ― J.R.R. Tolkien

18. “As I lay in prison, Sam, I tried to remember the Brandywine, and Wood End, and The Water running through the mill at Hobbiton. But I can’t see them now.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien
19. “Frodo: Sam! Wood-Elves! They’re going to the harbour beyond the White Towers. To the Grey Havens

Sam: They’re leaving Middle-earth.

Frodo: Never to return.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien

20. “All this last day Frodo had not spoken, but had walked half-bowed, often stumbling, as if his eyes no longer saw the way before his feet. Sam guessed that among all their pains he bore the worst, the growing weight of the Ring, a burden on the body and a torment to his mind. Anxiously Sam had noted how his master’s left hand would often be raised as if to ward off a blow, or to screen his shrinking eyes from a dreadful Eye that sought to look in them. And sometimes his right hand would creep to his breast, clutching, and then slowly, as the will recovered mastery, it would be withdrawn.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien

21. “Don’t you let go!” ― J.R.R. Tolkien
22. “It must often be so, Sam, when things are in danger: someone has to give them up, lose them, so that others may keep them.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien

23. “At last they rode over the downs and took the East Road, and then Merry and Pippin rode on to Buckland and already they were singing again as they went. But Sam turned to Bywater, and so came back up the Hill, as day was ending once more. And he went on, and there was yellow light, and fire within; and the evening meal was ready, and he was expected. And Rose drew him in, and set him in his chair, and put little Elanor upon his lap. He drew a deep breath. ‘Well, I’m back,’ he said.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien
24. “Don’t leave me here alone. Don’t go where I can’t follow.” ― JRR Tolkien

Other J.R.R Tolkien Quotes 

“All that is gold does not glitter,

Not all those who wander are lost;

The old that is strong does not wither,

Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

From the ashes a fire shall be woken,

A light from the shadows shall spring;

Renewed shall be blade that was broken,

The crownless again shall be king.”

― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

“Not all those who wander are lost.”

― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

“I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo.

“So do I,” said Gandalf, “and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”

― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

“I don’t know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve.”

― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

“All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”

― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

“If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.”

― J.R.R. Tolkien

“Never laugh at live dragons.”

― J.R.R. Tolkien

“Faithless is he that says farewell when the road darkens.”

― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

“The world is indeed full of peril, and in it there are many dark places; but still there is much that is fair, and though in all lands love is now mingled with grief, it grows perhaps the greater.”

― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

“Deserves it! I daresay he does. Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement. For even the very wise cannot see all ends.”

― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

“It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.”

― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings

“I will not say: do not weep; for not all tears are an evil.”

― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King

“Fantasy is escapist, and that is its glory. If a soldier is imprisioned by the enemy, don’t we consider it his duty to escape?. . .If we value the freedom of mind and soul, if we’re partisans of liberty, then it’s our plain duty to escape, and to take as many people with us as we can!”

― J.R.R. Tolkien

“The Road goes ever on and on

Down from the door where it began.

Now far ahead the Road has gone,

And I must follow, if I can,

Pursuing it with eager feet,

Until it joins some larger way

Where many paths and errands meet.

And whither then? I cannot say”

― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

“Do you wish me a good morning, or mean that it is a good morning whether I want it or not; or that you feel good this morning; or that it is a morning to be good on?”

― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, or There and Back Again

“Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky,

Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,

Nine for Mortal Men, doomed to die,

One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne

In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.

One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,

One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them.

In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.”

― J. R. R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings

“War must be, while we defend our lives against a destroyer who would devour all; but I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend.”

― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Two Towers

“And he took her in his arms and kissed her under the sunlit sky, and he cared not that they stood high upon the walls in the sight of many.”

― J.R.R. Tolkien

“Still round the corner there may wait

A new road or a secret gate

And though I oft have passed them by

A day will come at last when I

Shall take the hidden paths that run

West of the Moon, East of the Sun.”

― J.R.R. Tolkien

“I am glad you are here with me. Here at the end of all things, Sam.”

― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King

“Courage is found in unlikely places.”

― J.R.R. Tolkien

“May it be a light to you in dark places, when all other lights go out.”

― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

“It’s the job that’s never started as takes longest to finish.”

― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings

“I sit beside the fire and think

Of all that I have seen

Of meadow flowers and butterflies

In summers that have been

Of yellow leaves and gossamer

In autumns that there were

With morning mist and silver sun

And wind upon my hair

I sit beside the fire and think

Of how the world will be

When winter comes without a spring

That I shall ever see

For still there are so many things

That I have never seen

In every wood in every spring

There is a different green

I sit beside the fire and think

Of people long ago

And people that will see a world

That I shall never know

But all the while I sit and think

Of times there were before

I listen for returning feet

And voices at the door”

― J.R.R. Tolkien

“There is nothing like looking, if you want to find something. You certainly usually find something, if you look, but it is not always quite the something you were after.”

― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, or There and Back Again

“What do you fear, lady?” [Aragorn] asked.

“A cage,” [Éowyn] said. “To stay behind bars, until use and old age accept them, and all chance of doing great deeds is gone beyond recall or desire.”

― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King

“Moonlight drowns out all but the brightest stars.”

― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings

“Ho! Ho! Ho! To the bottle I go

To heal my heart and drown my woe

Rain may fall, and wind may blow

And many miles be still to go

But under a tall tree will I lie

And let the clouds go sailing by”

― J.R.R. Tolkien

“In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.”

― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, or There and Back Again

“Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards, for they are subtle and quick to anger.”

― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

“A man that flies from his fear may find that he has only taken a short cut to meet it.”

― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Children of Húrin

“It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations, if you live near him.”

― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, or There and Back Again

“May the wind under your wings bear you where the sun sails and the moon walks.”

― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, or There and Back Again

“So comes snow after fire, and even dragons have their endings.”

― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, or There and Back Again

“Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement.”

― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

“Where there’s life there’s hope.”

― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, or There and Back Again

“For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.”

― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King

“I warn you, if you bore me, I shall take my revenge.”

― J.R.R. Tolkien

“You can only come to the morning through the shadows.”

― J.R.R. Tolkien

“Short cuts make long delays.”

― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

“It’s like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were. And sometimes you didn’t want to know the end… because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it’s only a passing thing… this shadow. Even darkness must pass.”

― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Two Towers

“It cannot be seen, cannot be felt,

Cannot be heard, cannot be smelt,

It lies behind stars and under hills,

And empty holes it fills,

It comes first and follows after,

Ends life, kills laughter.”

― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, or There and Back Again

“Where did you go to, if I may ask?’ said Thorin to Gandalf as they rode along.

To look ahead,’ said he.

And what brought you back in the nick of time?’

Looking behind,’ said he.”

― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, or There and Back Again

“All that is gold does not glitter,

Not all those who wander are lost.”

― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

“But I have been too deeply hurt, Sam. I tried to save the Shire, and it has been saved, but not for me. It must often be so, Sam, when things are in danger: some one has to give them up, lose them, so that others may keep them.”

― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King

“In this hour, I do not believe that any darkness will endure.”

― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King

“The wide world is all about you: you can fence yourselves in, but you cannot for ever fence it out.”

― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

“Oft hope is born when all is forlorn.”

― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King

“In sorrow we must go, but not in despair. Behold! we are not bound for ever to the circles of the world, and beyond them is more than memory.”

― J.R.R. Tolkien

“It is not the strength of the body that counts, but the strength of the spirit.”

― J.R.R. Tolkien

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Conclusions

Many regard Sam Gamgee as the “true hero” of The Lord of the RIngs.

Tolkien himself expressed this view in one of his letters, referring to him as the “chief hero”.

The quest to destroy the Ring would not have succeeded without Sam, who repeatedly saves Frodo from disaster!

What is your opinion? Which Samwise Gamgee quote did you like most?

Let us know in the comments section!